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Bitter Gourd Gori is a white number of Bitter gourd or karela, sometimes called bitter melon within the Chinese markets, is a delicacy that may be nutritious and is renowned to have medicinal qualities. It may be fried, stuffed, pickled, baked or curried. Cooking this vegetable turns out to cut back one of the most bitter taste. White skin, excellent teething & less bitter than green variety makes it different than other variety.

Bitter melon is often used in Indian/Chinese cooking for its bitter flavour, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea. It has also been used in place of hops as the bittering ingredient in some Chinese beers. It is very popular throughout South Asia. In Northern India, it is often prepared with potatoes and served with yoghurt on the side to offset the bitterness, or used in sabji. In North Indian cuisine it is stuffed with spices and then cooked in oil.* This bitter melon is a traditional ingredient in Asian medicine and cuisine. Its most basic use is to help with gastrointestinal issues. In the United States, studies have shown that it can help people who are coping with diabetes. Extracts of the fruit also might help prevent and treat cancer and malaria!!!

If this variety did not exist a pharmaceutical company would invent it. In fact, there have been some ten studies published this past year about it, the latest as of this writing in February 2008 in the Journal of Food Biochemistry about its potential in diabetes treatment. Source

They are very easy to grow & easy to maintain. The plant can produce heaps of good sized bitter melon for months. Best time to sow seeds after frost. Seeds need min 20°C to germinate. Soak the seeds in water for a few hours before planting and sow them in 10mm deep in a sunny, well-drained position. Germinates between 10-14 days. Sow them 35-50cm apart. Enjoy your harvest approx 70 days from transplanting.

Due to quarantine restrictions, seeds can't be sent to Tasmania.

Nutritional value:

Bitter gourds are very low in calories but dense with precious nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and has high dietary fiber. It is rich in iron, contains twice the beta-carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana.
Bitter melon contains a unique phyto-constituent that has been confirmed to have a hypoglycemic effect called charantin. There is also another insulin-like compound known as polypeptide P which have been suggested as insulin replacement in some diabetic patients.